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From:
Subject: [APG] Re: RE: Is an adoption the end of the line?
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 20:10:40 EST


Barbara Brixey Wylie wrote:

> Identify it as an adoption and research either line or both. None of us
> spring from the womb with our education, socialization, ethics, and values
> developed. The "family of nurture" guides that. When our natal family and
> our nurturing family are not the same--or when we have both--we need not
> exclude either of them.
>
> Some lineage societies do require a blood line. Those of us who strive to
> know the whole person in the context of his real-world experience only
limit
> ourselves to that if we need a kidney transplant!
>
I couldn't agree more. However, every genealogy program I've examined forces
one to choose either the genetic link or the nurture link, be it adoptive or
informal, when reporting or displaying ancestral or descendant lines. You
can't have both simultaneously.

One person I know who has both relationships feels so strongly about it that
if he can't be shown as part of both his birth and adoptive parents' families,
he doesn't want to be shown at all. The only answer I have found has been to
print to disk, separately ouput the omitted data, then with a word processor
manually insert, appropiately number, format and cross-reference the line that
wasn''t selected for the original program output. When all the information is
already present in a single database, there should be an easier way.

Does anyone know of a program that allows genetic, adoptive and foster lines
of ancestry or descent to be reported at the same time? I would like to see at
least two options: (1) list all children in birth order, and (2) group
children by source of relationship--birth, parental marriage (stepchildren), legal
adoption, and informal adoption or fosterage.. There should be a capability to
list children in every family group with which they have one of these
relationships, ideally with cross-references to their presence in other familly
groups. I wouldn't object to a capability for selecting fewer types of these
relationships to display, similar to current programs, but that would encourage
presentation of an incomplete view of the family structure.

Donn Devine, CG, CGI
Wilmington DE

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGI, and Certified Genealogical Instructor are
service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license
by board certificants after periodic evaluation, and the board name is
registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.

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